Hey all,

Finally after 10 years off the road, the '71 Road Runner is going back together. Most know I've run a 440-6 in the '71 since the late '80's.

I am strongly considering putting in a MP 528cid, 640HP Mopar Performance crate engine. The book says it's assembled by Ray Barton. Anyone have any experience or feedback on this engine or Barton assembled stuff??????

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Barton rebuilt my crate Hemi and made it right....I'd trust him.

Why not 572, its the same cost for parts...Tim

I bought a Ray Barton built Mopar Performance 528 610 hp a few years ago. It runs excellent and has incredible torque, plus it revs. Best of both worlds. I would not hesitate to buy another

well your question deserves a story! I've lived in this neighborhood for 15 years. there is not a lot of different ways to get from point a to point b so I thought I had seen all that could be around. one afternoon last spring I was traveling back from a grocery run and much to my delight in a garage I had never seen open before was a pro-streeted 68 Satellite cloned into a Road Runner. the 2 brothers had just finished installing their new 528 Ray Barton hemi the day before and were overjoyed to show me and let me listen to it. what a beautiful beast that engine was! the only issue they had was a small oil leak around the sending unit. they were off to a car show the next day.

Thanks for the feedback so far. It would prolly be better if I describe what I'm looking for and why I have my eye on this engine.

At first, I wanted to stroke the 440 for a little more power. The 6-pak has always had a good "cool factor' when lifting the hood at shows, meets, local cruises, etc. However, I have always been a fan of the Hemi beast. So, I am looking for the additional WOW factor and the power.

Here is the reason for me asking about this choice. I work for a Chrysler dealership, and the discount rate for this is very attractive. The 528 list price is in the $19K range. I can get this for substantially less, even including state sales tax. In the $14K range. I don't think I would be able to get anyone to build me an aluminum headed 600HP Hemi for that sum of money. But...correct me if I'm wrong.

Keep the feedback coming. Thanks!!!
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Google Ray Barton's bio, if you don't think he's qualified to build a Hemi street engine, try someone else.

Thanks for the Google suggestion. Didn't even think about it. Once you take out all the advertisements, not a lot of positives about the MP 528 or Barton in regards to the MP motor.

I know Barton has a decent rep as far as his customer base, but he doesn't seem to fare too well with the feedback of the MP 528. Although, most of those posts or comments were from 2010 and earlier.
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I saw something a while back (Detroit Muscle maybe)where I understood it that Barton was now building all the m/p crate 528's. That may explain the early problems and what seems like a lack of problems now.

I would be surprised if Barton could build all of the MP motors. He has a custom engine shop. The shop is designed for quality builds not quantity.

I will be contacting the "higher ups" in the MP division. I'll start there. Thanks for all the feedback!!!

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I just got off the phone with Ray. He hasn't built the Mopar Performance crate motor in years.
If you want to build a hemi I would recommend calling Ray directly and have him build a custom motor to meet your needs.